Dating from 1893, several attempts were made to organize a YMCA
association in Bangkok, Thailand (previously known as Siam). However, the
formal establishment of an association with a foreign secretary was not begun
until 1929, after John R. Mott answered a request for assistance by a group of
churches and missions with a $21 thousand gift from the James Stokes Society.
The National Councils of the United States and Canada took responsibility for
the project, and Walter A. Zimmerman was placed in charge of the Bangkok
Association after a preliminary investigation was conducted by the
International Committee.

Zimmerman began to learn the Thai language and established a
provisional board of directors with Samuel Benthoon Boon Itt as president in
1932. The son of a Presbyterian missionary, Boon Itt and others had constructed
a mission known as the Boon Itt Institute in 1907. The mission transferred its
property, equipment and assets to the YMCA to become the Boon Itt Memorial
Branch of the Young Men’s Christian Association of Bangkok. Although three
quarters of the Bangkok Association’s board of directors were required to be
members of an evangelical church, general membership was granted to "any youth
of good moral character, without distinction of nationality, race, or
religion."

Membership grew quickly at the Bangkok Association, which offered
programs in physical education, Bible study, student groups, and hobby groups.
A night school for young men and women was established in 1936. By the 1940s,
the Association was overcrowded; however, an Englishwoman named Emily Collins
donated her Anglican girls’ school to the YMCA in 1941 – allowing for the
continued expansion of the Bangkok Association. Immediately prior to the
Japanese occupation of Thailand during World War II, all foreigners on the
board of directors resigned. When the Allies gained control of the country, the
Association’s property was turned into a military hospital for Indian troops.
The rundown building was returned to the YMCA in 1946.

By 1951, the Bangkok Association had a membership of 2,072 men and 351
boys, and it was estimated that another 225,000 people were served through
vocational classes, sports, and outdoor excursions, among other programs. The
Association continued to develop throughout the 1950s and 1960s via secretarial
training and the construction of building additions, student hostels, and camps
using money donated from the Buildings for Brotherhood Campaign, as well as
local fundraising efforts.

The first YMCA association outside of Bangkok was established in
Chiang Mai – the major city of northern Thailand – in 1969 with the assistance
of the Bangkok YMCA and the Canadian University Service Overseas. From early
on, the Chiang Mai Association was primarily concerned with rural development
work. The Association helped to train Thai development leaders, built roads,
schools, wells, and educated farmers on improved agricultural techniques.
However, the Association’s connection with USAID was controversial among
leftist students in the city. Furthermore, the rural development work in the
borderlands region of northern Thailand was slowed by political opposition and
the danger posed by communist insurgent groups.

Following the end of the Vietnam War in 1975, the YMCA in Thailand
worked to assist the flood of refugees streaming into the country via the
Indo-China Refugee Program. In addition, the Bangkok Association shifted its
focus to include more humanitarian work. Expansion continued through the
construction of new buildings, as well as the establishment of new YMCA centers
outside of Bangkok and Chiang Mai. Throughout the 1980s, the YMCA of Thailand
promoted development work, and the Northern Women's Development Foundation was
established in 1989 to encourage Thai women to participate in development
projects.

The following is a list of individuals who served as YMCA secretaries
in Thailand, along with their dates of service, if known:

Barnhart, Byron Pat (1937-1941)

Kindree, Roger M. (1965-1966)

Benne, Karl Heinz (1962-1963)

Meyer, Keith B. (1972-1974)

Brauninger, Robert R. (1963-1965)

Smargon, Alan Peter (1966-1968)

Faukner, Murray E. (1959-1970)

Stange, Karl Henry (1950-1953)

Harvey, Charles Way (1930-1932)

Wilcox, Joseph Jr. (1968-1973)

Hines, William Earle (1955)

Wilson, Floyd Alva (1946-1957)

Keller, Philip B. (1971-1973)

Zimmerman, Walter A. (1930-1956)

[Historical information largely adapted from the collection, as well
as from World Service: A History of the Foreign Work and
World Service of the Young Men's Christian Associations of the United States
and Canada (New York: Association Press, 1957) by Kenneth LaTourette.
Additional information was taken from the website of the Chiang Mai Association
(http://www.ymcachiangmai.org).]

The collection documenting YMCA work in Thailand (formerly known as
Siam) includes material dating from 1909 to 1980. The few documents prior to
1929 include correspondence regarding early attempts to establish YMCA
associations in Bangkok. The majority of the collection is composed of the
correspondence, administrative reports, financial reports, program reports, and
publications of YMCAs in Bangkok and Chiang Mai, Thailand. Material found in
the collection was created by YMCA secretaries in Thailand, members of the YMCA
International Committee, as well as other YMCA officials in North America and
Asia.

The collection also includes maps, photographs, publications written
in Thai, newspaper clippings, and building schematics. The records mention
special programs concerning physical education, vocational training, rural
development, and refugee assistance. The material also includes sparse
correspondence detailing the Japanese occupation during the Second World War,
communism and the political climate in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War,
and political strife in Thailand during and after the 1976 military coup.

This collection is protected by the Copyright Law of the United States
(Title 17, U.S. Code). It is the user's responsibility to verify copyright,
ownership, and to obtain all the necessary permissions prior to the
reproduction, publication, or other use of any portion of these materials.

Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item and/or series
here]. Records of YMCA International Work in Siam and Thailand. Kautz
Family YMCA Archives. University of Minnesota.

See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional
examples.

Processing Information:

Processed as part of Fast Processing Project II, March 2009, as
collection FP037. Material has been minimally processed. Folder descriptions
may be general and material has not been grouped into series.

Biographical information on most of the secretaries involved in Thai
work (see list of individuals in the historical note) is available in the YMCA
Biographical Files, separately cataloged in the Kautz Family YMCA Archives.

This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog
of the University of Minnesota Libraries. Researchers desiring materials about
related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these
headings.

Topics:

Occupational
training -- Thailand.

Physical
education and training -- Thailand.

Refugees --
Thailand.

Rural renewal
-- Thailand.

Young Men's
Christian associations -- Administration.

Young Men's
Christian associations -- Buildings.

Young Men's
Christian associations -- Thailand.

Places:

Bangkok (Thailand).

Chiang Mai (Thailand).

Thailand.

Thailand -- History -- Coup d'état, 1976.

Organizations:

International Committee of YMCAs. World Service.

National Board of the Young Men's Christian Associations.
International Division.

YMCA of the USA. International Division.

Young Men's Christian Associations of North America.
International Committee.

E-mail questions or comments to: ymcaarch@umn.eduURL:
http://special.lib.umn.edu/findaid/html/ymca/yusa0009x2x43.phtml |Last revised:
December 13, 2012
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